Editor: If you won’t speak up out of political correctness. If you won’t speak up out of insecurity. If you won’t speak up out of fear. Will you speak up to protect your children and grandchildren? It doesn’t take any …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: I’m not siding with Republicans or Democrats, but with Rick Scott’s record of defrauding Medicare and his past record of disregarding laws governing state officials, how is he allowed to continue in office? Joe Gruters wrote an article in …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: I find it interesting when people in favor of increasing the impact fees neglect to advise the people of Charlotte County what happens to the taxes when a building is erected. Let’s begin with if you have a piece …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Yesterday, I read the second letter to you about poor service at some local banks. Well, I don’t know where the writers have been banking but maybe they need to change banks. I am a customer at Fifth Third …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: I was absolutely appalled when I read the article in yesterday’s paper stating that the Charlotte County employee had been exonerated of any charges regarding the torture of wild feral hogs. Florida statutes require that trapped hogs be dispatched …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Now that the Sabal Trace Golf & Country Club has disclosed their plans for an upgrade, I believe it would only be fair for them to have a joint meeting with their bordering neighbors. The people of Linkside at …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: I believe the media and FDLE is hyping this alleged scandal. When Charlie Crist was attorney general, he attempted investigating the Florida prison hierarchy and no one has touched this until Gov. Scott wanted a change in the FDLE …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Dear defenders of Fox News, let me clue you in: Fox went to court for the right to lie to their viewers. They won and they exercise this right vigorously and routinely. They once doctored photos of two New …
Find out how to read more online.

OUR POSITION: Program changes preclude funding for another Institute for the Ages. Four years ago, when the Sarasota County Commission decided to spend $1.2 million in seed money on a think tank called the Sarasota Institute for the Ages, we likened …
Find out how to read more online.

OUR POSITION: Judging by some of his recent decisions, Gov. Rick Scott seems to have taken his second-term victory as an invitation to ignore state laws and good sense. Gov. Rick Scott is walking a fine line between taking advantage …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Systematically, the American people have been duped into spending their whole lives on land owned by banks, in apartments owed by landlords, receiving wages from corporations only to give it right back, and are allowed to vote only for …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Apparently, if you live on a road that has a curve in it in North Port, you are subject to various people missing the curve at high speeds and crashing into your property. What is puzzling to me is …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Your commissioners are back at it again. Waste Management has convinced the county to switch the green trash can to recyclables and the smaller can to garbage. There is money in recyclables, there is none in garbage. If you …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: There’s news of Charlotte County torturing hogs, but no news of private contractors, aka hog-doggers, torturing hogs and abusing their dogs. A pickup drives around Rotonda advertising wild hog removal. Its owner talks about a “contract” to do so. …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: I don’t think I have encountered such a blatantly transparent lack of credibility, since recess in Grade 2, as was reported in the Feb. 6 edition of The Wire. First we are told that French and German leaders are …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: It is past time to end the illegal use and/or possession of marijuana. It is time to move into the 21st century and realize and understand that it is no more dangerous than the use of alcohol. Let’s end …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: A view on how Obama must operate his household: Barack: Michelle I am going to buy a new car. Michelle: We cannot afford it, look at our debt. Barack: Don’t worry. Its OK. We just will not pay our …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: In all fairness, a recent writer deserves a response from a railroader. The temp jobs mentioned in the letter, the safety concerns mentioned, all being legitimate descriptions of a need, do not represent the long term for jobs. Railroads …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: In reply to the submission, “Cartoon made reader angry.” The author is upset that a political cartoon equated the Christian behavior of the Crusades, the Holy Inquisition and the Salem witch burnings to the current day behavior of jihadists. …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: I have yet to understand the massive and punitive EPA restriction placed on American energy producers and yet, because of high demand for coal in India and China coal will continue to be the main source of energy worldwide. …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Bowe Bergdahl was released in early June 2014 by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network. He was traded for five Taliban prisoners. For a long time, the White House stood behind the, “He served his country with honor and we always …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: “Try as I might,” I have never been able to finish reading an article (the ramblings) submitted by Leonard Pitts. He seems to be a very articulate gentleman, however, he could get his point across utilizing a lot less …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: It saddens me to hear the Florida International Air Show for 2015 has been canceled due to lack of sponsorship, support from local government agencies and rising costs. I have been associated with the Air Show for well over …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: We are shocked at the mass murders in Paris by criminals masquerading as Muslims. Sure Charlie Hebdo, the French magazine with a small circulation, made a habit of poking fun at religion. Nevertheless, religion must never be elevated to …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: If you have ever been in the public gallery of a courtroom in the Charlotte County Justice Center trying to follow a hearing for a defendant in a criminal case, you may well have had the same problem I …
Find out how to read more online.

OUR POSITION: Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce. But keep Meatless Monday. Tuesday through Friday, Sarasota County public school students can choose from a lunch menu that may include cheeseburgers, hamburgers, beef or chicken tacos, turkey pot pie, Asian chicken, …
Find out how to read more online.

Few places in our region devote as much energy to the celebration of local history as Englewood. Consider: • A committee has begun meeting to discuss establishing a history museum on or near Dearborn Street in Olde Englewood Village. • …
Find out how to read more online.

T his just in from the press box: Sources told media outlets last week that Venice is among the cities being considered by the Atlanta Braves for their next spring training site. Holy cow! Seems the club may leave the …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: With the latest revelation concerning the barbaric and horrible execution of the Jordanian pilot by ISIS, burning him alive while locked in a cage, outrages the very moral fiber of decent people worldwide. All of this while our Islamic-favoring …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: President Obama and his administration claim that they want to close Gitmo because this is a calling card for Muslims to join terrorist groups. Having reviewed the facts, I must agree with the administration for the following reasons: In …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: On Page 8 of Thursday’s edition, in an article about humans interbreeding with Neanderthals, I found it again. The oft-misused employment of the word “proximity.” For some reason your writers, as well as national wire services and television reporters, …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Thank you for the coverage of the Textbook Review Committee and their goals. I was very disappointed, however, at the varying degrees of condescension and arrogance displayed by some of the school officials present at that hearing. Teachers are …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: A letter writer wanted to “address the laws that pour so much money into the hands of the few.” I don’t know which laws those are, unless she is referring to the tax code which she wants to avoid. …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: High school students studying journalism learn on the first day of class about the 5 W’s and H — who, what, when, where, why and how. These are the essential questions to answer when reporting a newsworthy event. I …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Let me get this off my chest. Deflate-gate was much ado about nothing. If the inflation of the football was such a big deal, the league should control all the balls. For years, control has been left in the hands …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Would you support an educator teaching your child in a classroom the following statement? “It’s the same god. The Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims all believe in the same god.” I consider this proselytizing as the mere definition …
Find out how to read more online.

Editor: Regarding the letter about John Boehner, I offer the following: John is a neighbor and friend of mine. He is a hardworking man from a very large family. He has dedicated his life to serving the public in Congress. …
Find out how to read more online.

There is still hope for an air show in Charlotte County this year. Organizers of the Florida International Air Show, an annual event for 34 years at the Punta Gorda Airport, are considering a later date for the show, which was canceled …
Find out how to read more online.

Maybe North Port should start billing itself as EcoCity. With its ownership of Warm Mineral Springs, its waterways and parks — and soon its access to preserved lands across the city line — North Port might do well to pump …
Find out how to read more online.